As well as its DLC coating, the company has also developed a wide range of colours in materials like MGTC (Military Grade Titanium Coating) and GPC (Graphite Particle Coating).

But don’t start digging out your battered old Timex for a freshen-up yet. The company’s modifications are done on brand new Rolex models they procure themselves (so you can’t simply hand them the family heirloom you’ve been wearing for the past 10 years), plus a smattering of other high-end brands including Audemars Piguet and Panerai.

The price for a Bamford watch starts at £8,500.

Bamford Watches

If your pockets aren’t that deep, or you’re simply looking to dip a tentative toe into the world of watch modding, you’d be better off enlisting the skills of someone like Jay at MotorCity WatchWorks in Detroit, Michigan.

A ubiquitous name on mod forums, Jay (whose surname remains mysteriously elusive) offers a range of services including Cerakote-coating (a ceramic-based substance commonly used in the US to coat small firearms), bead blasting (giving steel a matte finish with minimal light-reflecting properties), various coloured lume replacement, plus case work like polishing and brushing.

The two basic modification options, according to Jay, are the Cerakote-coating or blasting, which cost from just $50 to $150.

A quick scan of the watches modded by Jay on his website suggests that Seikos are the most popular brand to be customised. Is there a reason for this?

“All watches can be modded when you are doing [Cerakote-coating or blasting],” says Jay. “But if you want different parts, then Seiko is the watch of choice because of the easy availability of lots of custom parts, such as the dial, hands and bezel inserts.”

There’s also the fact that Seiko watches are so affordable compared to Swiss ones and that several million are made a year – so people are more willing to experiment on them than that Submariner that cost them a couple of months’ salary.